Witnesses tell of pandemonium as armed gang hit Joburg mall

Witnesses have described the pandemonium that broke out in a Johannesburg mall on Monday during an armed robbery, when a woman apparently jumped from the second floor in a state of panic.

"I couldn't believe that she jumped. She just kept crying in pain, saying that she was scared of being shot. I asked her why she jumped and she said she was scared and wanted to hide away from the robbers," said Eric, a painter in the recently opened shopping mall.

He said the woman was bleeding profusely after she jumped and she appeared to have broken her leg.

Robbers hit two jewellery shops in the Mall of the South on Monday.

"Everyone was scared and the woman was crying and screaming about guns. She was really scared because a rumour had spread that the robbers were coming [to] this side [of the mall], Eric told News24 on Tuesday.

He said all the shops closed the minute shots were heard.

Mall of the South spokesperson Waldo Marcus said the woman, who works at one of the food chains, sustained a laceration wound to her head and was being treated at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.

On Tuesday there were still visible bullet holes in the walls and windows around the mall.

"Everyone was in a panic after the robbery, so it was no surprise that someone was hurt," Eric said.

Six men robbed both the Brown's and the Swarovski jewellery stores.

According to witnesses, three of the robbers posed as customers.

Woolworths security officer Goodness Zwane said she saw the three man enter Brown's jewellery store and put jewellery into their bags.

"I stand opposite the store so I saw everything as it happened. I can still see the guys' faces but I am too scared to testify because those people did not care if we saw them. I am still shaken. I can't believe that this happened right before my eyes," she said.